


Simon Says

by provencepuss



Category: Starsky & Hutch
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-06
Updated: 2012-11-06
Packaged: 2017-11-18 02:55:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/556089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/provencepuss/pseuds/provencepuss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Did you ever wonder why Simon and his band were arrested?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simon Says

**Author's Note:**

> Simon Marcus was so obviously based on Manson so part of his crime is similar to the Tate mansion killings. No offense to the living or dead intended

SIMON SAYS

  
The circus had come to town just outside the city limits. The tents were set up on a cattle farm in the Simi Valley. The circus folk lived in trailers and RVs and tents that were scattered around the hillside above the farm. The people in some of the tents and vans had little to do with the circus; but the cover was perfect.

The circus had full house all week and the last few shows had all sold out. The special thing about it was that there were no animal acts; just clowns and acrobats and magicians. And potheads and dope dealers and it was just possible that there was also a killer in one of the tents.

The circus had been through fifty towns in ten states in the past three months and in many of those places young kids had disappeared. Some of them turned up again a couple of days later when the circus folk kindly but firmly sent them home. Some of them turned up dead. Always the same scenario; the kid would be found bound and gagged and naked in a ditch about a mile from the campsite…just after the circus had gone. They had all been raped.

For some reason the local Police departments and Sheriff’s offices didn’t see the link. Each investigated its own local tragedy without thinking about the circus.  
This circus didn’t inspire the usual suspicions because the performers weren’t like the usual collection of “gypsies tramps and thieves” of the popular imagination. These people were more like hippies and drop outs who just wanted to live an alternative life style. They caused no trouble so no-one thought to make the connection.

****************************************************************

  
“All I want is Black Bean Soup….”  
Hutch was singing at the top of his voice as he negotiated the canyon roads in the mini-bus. Starsky was sitting among the kids trying to keep some kind of order. He had Sally sitting next to him.  
Hutch went on singing and glanced in the rear-view mirror. He would have preferred Starsky to do the driving; but on reflection it was maybe better this way.  
The outing was Starsky’s idea and Hutch was mentally crossing his fingers that everything would go OK. He remembered how it had come up.

It was a few days after Hutch had come back from Minnesota. He’d gone over to see if his partner felt like going to see a movie.  
Starsky was sitting on the floor in his kitchen playing Monopoly with himself. He looked like he hadn’t shaved for a day or two; and Hutch detected the gamey scent of an unwashed Starsk. He had three empty beer cans beside him and he was sipping from the fourth. When Hutch had suggested a movie he’d been brusquely rejected and he knew better than to push it. He sat down on the floor and took the boot and the dice, “Mind if I join in?”  
Starsky gestured with his beer towards the fridge and said “help yourself.”  
They played a few turns and suddenly Starsky pushed the board away from him.  
“I’m sorry, buddy; I really just wanna be on my own OK?”  
Hutch touched him on the cheek and said “Sure. See you tomorrow. I’ll get fresh coffee going in the squad room because I think you’re going to need it.”  
Starsky smiled wanly and staggered towards his bedroom. Hutch heard him land on his bed and he closed the front door quietly.  
Still fighting his demons

Driving home Hutch wasn’t surprised. Terri had been gone nine months and Starsky was still fragile no matter what he said. Hutch’s brother-in-law was a volunteer counselor and he’d explained that real grief needs a year to work itself out of someone’s system.  
“Once the first anniversary is over,” he told Hutch, “your friend will be able to start seeing things differently. He has to get through the first Christmas without her, his first birthday without her, her birthday etc. It’ll be easier for him after that.”

So Starsky had somehow clowned his way through his first Christmas without her; he’d also observed his own traditions of Hanukah and Hutch thought maybe that was to ease the pain too.

The next morning Starsky had arrived looking like the morning after more than one night before. He went straight to his chair and Hutch handed him a mug. Starsky held the mug out and Hutch filled it with strong freshly-brewed coffee. Starsky sniffed it and sipped. He reached for the sugar and spooned in a couple of doses; he started to stir the coffee absentmindedly.

“I’ve been thinking.” He was staring into the coffee as he spoke. “There’s a circus up in the Simi Valley and kids love circuses, don’t they.”  
“Don’t tell me Starsk; you want to relive a childhood memory.”  
Starsky silenced him with a look.   
“I thought it would be nice gesture to take the basketball team to the circus. I…uh…I…I think that Terri would have taken them and …”  
Hutch touched his hand. “That’s a really nice idea Starsk; as long as you can handle it.”  
“Sure we can.”  
“We?”  
“Hey, you don’t think I’m gonna take ten kids to the circus on my own do you?”  
 _That’s not what I meant, buddy._

So here they were in a mini-bus climbing up a canyon road in the Simi Valley area looking for a farm with a circus pitched in its fields.  
In back of the mini-bus Starsky decided it was time for a sing-song. He started them off with “One green bottle hanging on the wall.” Things went fine for the first three or four bottles but soon the educationally-challenged passengers began to have problems with the sequence. Starsky yelled at Hutch over the din “Come on Blondie, sing us something you sang when you were a kid.”  
Hutch started them off with “Old McDonald had a farm” and soon there was a wild chorus of animal noises as all the kids joined in with enthusiasm. Hutch glanced into the rear-view just in time to see the sadness is Starsky’s eyes before his partner visibly pulled himself back to the world around him.  
 _Stay with us Starsk._

Sally started to shout excitedly: “I see the circus! I see the circus!”  
Hutch pulled the mini-bus into the field that served as a parking lot; he and Starsky helped the kids get out.

  
Up in the hills above the farm a group of tent-dwellers watched the raggle-taggle group make its way to the circus ticket booth.

“The girl walking beside the dark man she’s the one.” A bearded man turned his blank eyes to his companion and added. “Find out where she lives. My dream for her has begun.”

  
****************************************************************

The kids were having a great time. The big hit was the clown act.  
Three clowns were in hot pursuit of a runaway car and as they ran after it they fell over their oversized shoes, tripped over the ends of their baggy pants or turned somersaults. Sally was tugging at Starsky’s sleeve “I want to go to the bathroom.”  
Starsky stood up and gently guided her by the arm down through the bleachers and out to the toilet tents. He showed her which tent was for “young ladies” and waited outside. Sally emerged a few minutes later and took Starsky by the hand; they went back to their seats.  
There was another act in the main ring now and Hutch had been dragged down to ‘help’ the magician. He had already handed over his watch. The Magician called for an assistant and beckoned Starsky down; as he left his seat he grinned at the kids.  
“I hope this guy knows what he’s doing because Hutch will be mad if his watch gets broken.” He wasn’t kidding either. Starsky wore a custom-made stainless steel watchband; his partner claimed that wristwatches annoyed him and he kept an old-fashioned fob watch in his pocket. Starsky knew that the watch had belonged to Hutch’s grandfather. The magician started his routine. He held out a hammer and gave it to Starsky to inspect; he made a whole pantomime of testing it on Hutch’s head. The Magician took the watch and put it on an upturned barrel; then covered it with a big red and white bandanna. He took the hammer from Starsky… and hit the watch hard. Hutch’s face was a picture.   
The Magician picked up the bandanna with a flourish to reveal a shattered watch.  
Starsky mimed horror and looked up at the kids. Sally was almost hysterical and Billy was beginning to cry. Lou had his hands over his face and was peeking through his fat starfish fingers just the way he’d seen Starsky do when they’d played hide and seek with Terri.  
Hutch glared at the broken watch.  
The Magician went over to Starsky “What’s this I see?” He reached inside Starsky’s jacket. The two cops held their breath; neither of them really wanted the audience to see that they were armed. The Magician removed Hutch’s watch from Starsky’s inside pocket.

Starsky and Hutch went back to the over-excited kids. “I don’t know about you Blondie but I’m getting hungry!” He winked at the kids and said “Are you guys hungry?”  
He was answered by a chorus of “Yes” and “I am”.  
“Ok; then follow me.”   
Hutch knew what was coming; he’d seen it so often in the recess yard of the Marshall Center. Starsky started off by hopping on one foot.  
“Simon says: hop to the Candy Floss stand” and off they went like a crazy version of the Pied Piper’s band.  
The only kid who managed to hop all the way to the Candy Floss stand was Lou. As soon as he had his stick of fluffy pink candy the mad Pied Piper routine started again.  
“Simon says: run sideways to the candy apple man.”  
Crablike they made their clumsy way to the next food stop and the winner this time was Billy. Proudly holding his candy apple, Billy dropped out of the line and stayed with Hutch.  
“Simon says: jump to the hot-dog man”. Starsky, Sally and Robbie jumped off towards the hot dog stand. “Keep your feet together” Starsky shouted as they bounced along.  
This time everyone was served and Hutch crossed his fingers that his partner would stop there; but oh no, the Pied Piper still had a trick up his sleeve.  
“Simon says: race you to the soda stand”. The kids started their haphazard race to the stand selling cokes and Dr Peppers and Kool-Aid and all the other brightly colored highly sugared drinks. Hutch sent up a prayer that none of them threw up in the bus going home. And that included his partner.

The kids and the two cops settled at a picnic table to finish their feast. Hutch looked at his watch and gestured to Starsky that they should think about heading home. They led the kids back to the bus and set off down the canyon in the fading evening light.  
As he drove down the winding road Hutch was thinking about how Starsky seemed to come into his own when he was with kids. He was a natural with them, whereas even with his nephews and nieces Hutch felt he had to play the role of genial adult.  _Maybe it’s because he had to grow up so fast; he grabs at any chance to be kid._

First stop was Lou’s house. Starsky led the fat slow-moving kid to the front door of the house. The door opened and after a brief discussion with Lou’s mom, Starsky came back to the bus. He looked at the list in his hand and said “Next stop; Billy’s place”  
Billy clapped his hands fingers splayed, and grinned wildly. His thick glasses hid his almost non-seeing eyes. “Did you have fun today, Billy?” Starsky asked him gently.  
“Yes; can we do it again tomorrow?” Starsky patted his arm. “No Billy, but we’ll have some fun next week, I promise.”  
It was always the same routine with Billy.

They dropped off Robbie and then started on the last lap of the round. Sally’s family didn’t live far from Starsky’s place and they left the bus at the Marshall Center and picked up the Torino. When Sally saw that she was getting a ride in the “Tomato” she grinned wildly.  
Starsky opened the passenger door and flipped the seat forward. “In the back, Blondie.” Hutch shot him a dirty look but climbed into the back of the car all the same.  
“In the back Blondie. In the back Blondie.” Sally would have gone on repeating it if Starsky hadn’t gently nudged her arm.   
“If Princess Sally is ready; her carriage awaits.” He said and he bowed deeply from the waist as Sally settled into the bucket seat. Starsky trotted round to the driver’s side and slid in behind the wheel.   
“If Princess Sally is ready…”  
Hutch leaned forward; “do you think she should have the safety belt on Starsk?”  
“Yes.” Starsky reached over and fastened the safety belt across Sally’s chest. He grinned at his passengers, turned the key and popped the gears; Sally squealed with delight as the Torino screeched from 0 to 30 leaving behind two black tracks on the concrete road surface.

After they’d returned Sally to her parents Starsky drove home and invited Hutch up for supper. “I should have some pasta and maybe a few beers left.”  
Hutch went to the bathroom and freshened up while Starsky started puttering around in his kitchen. A smell of frying onions and garlic started to waft into the living room and Hutch came back sniffing the air like a puppy. Starsky was busy at the counter. He was expertly chopping Jalapeno peppers and tomatoes. He slid them into the pan with the onion mixture and went to the fridge. He came back with a pack of hamburger and started to crumble it into the pan. He added chopped tomatoes, stirred and tasted and added a little salt. His fingers hovered over a jar of dried leaves and then he took a jar marked “oregano” and sprinkled some into the mixture. A big pot of water was bubbling and Starsky slid in exactly enough spaghetti for two hungry cops. He stirred the pasta to stop it sticking and turned to the bottle rack behind him. He studied his wine collection and selected a bottle. He found the corkscrew and sat on the counter; ankles crossed he put the bottle between his knees and worked the cork out of it carefully. He sniffed the cork and smiled.  
Hutch had been watching this performance with rising admiration. He knew perfectly well that his partner didn’t really live on the junk food that he opted for when they were out. But in all the years that they’d known each other he hadn’t seen Starsky cook so well and so often.   
 _Terri really taught him a lot_.

Starsky caught his eye and turned back to his pots. Hutch poured the wine and tapped his partner on the shoulder to give him a glass; as he turned Starsky tried to wipe away the tear, but he wasn’t quick enough.  
“It’s the onions.” He tried to cover himself.  
“Bullshit! Onions only make you cry when you cut them and when you first put them in the pot.”  
Starsky smiled and said “make yourself useful and set the table willya?”

Hutch found everything he needed and set the table. Starsky had two beautifully carved wooden candlesticks and Hutch felt the urge to light the candles in them.  
“Hey Starsk, you got something to light these candles with?”  
“In the top drawer of the bureau.” Starsky didn’t even turn to answer – Hutch knew that he was still hiding his tears.

Hutch opened the drawer. Only a couple of weeks ago he’d watched his partner play his undercover role right down to expertly rolling a joint; now he found himself looking at a Zippo lighter which was sticking out of a pack of Camels. He decided not to say anything and took the lighter out of the drawer.  
He flipped the top and the flame ignited immediately; he was lighting the candles when Starsky said “Glad to see it still works.”  
He was standing behind Hutch with two plates of Spaghetti à la Starsky. He had a sketchy smile on his lips but his eyes were sad.

Hutch sat at the table and started to mix the pasta and sauce on his plate. He took a mouthful and reached for the wineglass fast.  
“Hot?” Starsky said mockingly.  
Hot was not the word. Hutch reckoned that he could have lit the candles with his breath after a mouthful of Jalapeno pepper spaghetti sauce. He took a sip of wine and tried again. This time it went down easily and he remembered the first time he’d eaten food this spicy; Starsky had told him “The first mouthful burns and after that you’re numb!”  
Starsky was eating his food distractedly.  
Hutch was trying to find the right question to ask.  _He’s crying for her still. Or is it something else?_

Starsky took a mouthful of wine. He savored it in his mouth for a moment and then looked at Hutch.  
“Did you read the Zippo?”  
Hutch looked up from his plate. “What do you mean?”  
Starsky picked up the lighter and handed it to his friend. Hutch took the Zippo and turned it over in his hand. On one side he read “And it’s one two three what are we fighting for?” On the other side he saw an expertly drawn candle with the inscription “Remember me when I’m gone.”

He was stunned. “Where did you get this?”  
Starsky raised his glass in a toast. “It’s mine; a genuine ‘Nam relic; we all did it, engrave something on the Zippo for the ones who might be left behind…or maybe just for ourselves.” Seeing the look on Hutch’s face he continued. “Came in handy for lighting a joint or, a cigarette; some of the guys had to use them for flame throwers too. I was a sharpshooter; at least I didn’t have to do that kind of shit.”

Hutch turned this over in his mind.  _Let him tell you in his own good time. He’s hurting and he needs to spit it out._

Hutch finished his meal in silence; Starsky had pushed his plate away without finishing.   
Hutch offered to help with the dishes but Starsky said to leave them. They killed the bottle and Hutch saw that he wasn’t going to learn anything more that evening. He left his friend clearing up in the kitchen.

****************************************************************

  
Hutch was asleep. The ‘phone woke him and he grunted into the receiver; the clock said two forty. Starsky’s words woke him up with a jerk.  
“Hutch. Sally’s mom just called. Sally’s disappeared.”  
Hutch was already half way into his jeans when he said “I’ll meet you there.”  
He ran down to his car and drove off.

It only took Starsky a few minutes to get to the Lawson house. He ran up to the front door and let himself in without knocking. Sally’s parents were sitting on the couch; her mother’s eyes were red and puffy with tears and her father was just plain stunned. He sat in an armchair opposite them.  
“Hutch is on his way.” He said quietly. “Just try to think about anything you saw or heard this evening before Sally went to bed.”

Sally’s mother sniffed and dabbed at her nose with a crumpled wet Kleenex.   
“I put her to bed around nine o’clock. Oh David, she was so excited because she’d had such a lovely day. She kept telling me how you called her ‘Princess Sally’; that really tickled her, you know?” She sniffed and dabbed again.  
“I stayed with her until she was asleep. I usually do when she’s been excited just in case she doesn’t make it to the bathroom.”  
Starsky smiled at her. He was thinking about how hard it must be for Sally’s parents knowing that their twelve year old daughter would never have a mental age more than about five or six. How they would always have to be there to make sure that even the simplest things in her life were made easy for her and how they must worry about what would happen to her after they were no longer there to look after her. Terri had often talked to him about that burden. She’d seen parents break down and marriages end in divorce because of the strain put on them by the caring for an exceptional child. He could hear her gentle voice now.  _You know Dave, in the movies the parents hold hands and smile and battle on; but in real life their marriages break down because one of them – usually the father – can’t handle the situation. It takes very special people to care for a sick or handicapped child. And they have the worry of who’s going to look after that child when they’re gone. Sisters and brothers can’t, or won’t, always do it; and then what? They need all the support and help they can get, Dave; and so many people get embarrassed and walk away…_

He heard Hutch’s car draw up outside the house and he went to the door.  
“What have you found out?” His partner asked.  
“Not a lot.” Starsky sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. He stepped out onto the porch and leaned heavily on the wall. “She went to bed and her mom stayed until she was asleep. When her parents went up to bed they checked her room and she wasn’t there.”

“Have you been up to check the room yet?”  
Starsky looked at him wearily; “no, I thought I should be there to listen to them.”

Hutch led Starsky back into the house and greeted the Lawsons; he went straight up the stairs and his partner could hear him going from room to room. He glanced at Sally’s mom; she was trying not to cry. Her husband had a hand on her arm, but Starsky noticed that he was not really comforting his distraught wife.  
 _…one of them – usually the father – can’t handle the situation._  
It occurred to Starsky that he had never met Mr. Lawson before although he knew Sally’s mom pretty well. Now he understood why.   
Hutch came down the stairs and motioned with his head that his partner should come closer.  
“The window in the spare bedroom was unlocked. It looks like it was forced open from the outside. I’ll call the lab people to come and check it out properly. Oh and I found this on the floor in Sally’s room.”  
He showed Starsky what he was holding. It was a sticky mess of mud and pine needles.  
The trees in and around the Lawson’s neighborhood were mostly eucalyptus and a few palms.   
“Well partner, looks like we’ve got a clue.” Starsky fished in his pocket and found a sample bag.  
He went back to sit with the Lawsons and wait for any other information that one or the other of them might suddenly think of. It could be a long process, but sometimes the parents of kidnap victims have seen more than they realize – they just have to let it surface to the top of their memories. But before it can surface the shock and the grief have to take their turn.

Hutch went out to the Torino and took the radio mike.  
“This is Zebra three. We are at 1379 Hillcrest. Reporting a possible kidnapping; I need a lab team here please.”  
The dispatcher repeated the address and confirmed that a lab team was on its way. He checked if medical assistance was required and signed off when Hutch said “no”.

Hutch leaned on the car. Something was playing in the back of his mind; something he’d seen or heard. The only problem was that he had been in the middle of a weird dream when Starsky’s call woke him and even now he couldn’t be sure if the image he had in his head was from the dream or from reality. He shrugged and went back towards the house.  
Starsky was on his way out. Mr. Lawson had remembered something and Starsky wanted to share it with his partner where the distressed parents couldn’t hear their discussion.  
“Her dad says he was sure that he heard some kind of music outside just before they went to bed. He looked out of the window but couldn’t see any cars or anything so he thought maybe it came from a house across the road – only all the other houses were already dark.”

“So now we have two clues; pine needles and music. Did he say what kind of music?”  
“All he could say was that it was “weird”.” Starsky grinned; “that covers most of the stuff you listen to for a start!”  
Hutch decided to ignore that one.   
“Are you getting in the car or do you want to run behind?” Starsky’s question pulled Hutch back from his reverie; the image had come back. A dark van. Where had he seen that before?  
“Hey!” I want some breakfast!” Starsky was dangling his car-keys in front of Hutch’s eyes. “The lights are on…anyone home?”  
Hutch opened the passenger door of the Torino and his partner grinned at him.  
“Hey sleepyhead; if you leave that heap of junk in a neighborhood like this, it’ll be towed away.” Starsky was jerking his curly head at the battered vehicle that Hutch called his car.  
“I’ll follow you, Starsk.”  
“You’d better!”

Hutch was not really concentrating on his driving; the image of the dark van kept flashing in front of his eyes. He didn’t see the garbage truck until it was too late.  
Starsky heard the crash and looked automatically in his rear view to see if Hutch had stopped to assist. What he saw made him slam his brakes so hard he nearly got a mail truck in the trunk. He swore, swerved and turned back.  
Hutch’s car was crumpled into the rear of the garbage truck. The garbage operatives were staring in through the shattered windshield. Starsky yelled at them to call for an ambulance and “get outta the way!”

“Hutch? Hey Hutch can you hear me?...oh fuck…” Hutch’s head was slumped over the steering wheel and he didn’t react when Starsky yelled his name again.  
Starsky started tugging at the door handle; it was stuck as usual. He put a foot up on the side of the car and braced against his own strength to force the door open. He reached into the car and gently touched Hutch’s cheek.  
“Hey come on Blintzie come back to me.”  
Hutch groaned and started to lean back against the seat. Starsky put a hand behind his neck to support it. “Careful; you might have whiplash.”  
Hutch opened his eyes and looked at his partner - the mixture of fear and concern on Starsky’s face nearly made him cry.  
 _Don’t poop out on him now Hutchinson._  
“You know what Starsk; maybe we should wear our safety belts now and again!”  
Starsky sketched a lop-sided smile. “Oh yea; if we had to unbuckle every time we get out of the car we’d never catch the wise guys! Well I guess if you can crack a joke you must be feeling ok.”  
Hutch eased himself out of the car and rolled a shoulder tentatively. “I’m fine but look at my car!”  
“I’d say it was definite improvement! Hey you don’t even need a tow truck; these guys can take it away for you.”  
There was little or no answer to that; the car was a write-off this time. He shrugged and started to follow Starsky to the Torino. One of the garbage operatives called after him. “Hey buddy; you can’t leave this thing here.” Hutch ignored him.  
“Just get me out of here before the ambulance arrives – I don’t need a hospital.” His partner did not agree; but he decided not to argue about it; at the first sign of trouble he’d get Hutch to the Emergency room even if he had to cuff him to do it.

“You’re kinda quiet; you ok? If you wanna throw up just give me plenty of warning.  
Hey…hey Blondie I’m talking to you…Hutch?”  
Starsky started to slow down and Hutch pulled himself together again.  
“Sorry Starsk; I was just trying to remember something. I think…no… I can’t be sure. Forget it.”  
Starsky looked at him out of the corner of his eye. _Hang on in there kiddo; don’t lose your marbles yet.  
_ “Wanna share this earth moving thought?”  
“I told you to forget it. I guess I was confusing things in my head.”  
“Well there’s a scoop for the evening news!”  
“Shut up and drive. Where are we having breakfast?”  
“My place ok with you?”  
“That depends on what you have on offer.”  
“I thought you’d never ask.” Starsky did a fairly good imitation of Mae West and laughed.

  
After a cup of Starsky’s strong coffee and a couple of bagels with cream cheese Hutch felt like he could handle the world again. Starsky was sipping coffee and looking at his partner quizzically. Sometimes Hutch had the feeling that his friend could read his mind – or at least see into some dark corner that he didn’t even know existed. On the other hand, despite the fact that they’d known each other nearly eight years now; and despite the sense he had that Starsky was still crying behind his eyes for Terri, Hutch knew that he would never see all the corners in his partner’s mind. So here he was, sitting at the counter in Starsky’s kitchen; trying to work out the difference between what he thought he’d dreamed and what he may or may not have really seen.  
Starsky poured himself another cup of coffee and gestured at Hutch’s cup with the pot.  
“Are you kidding; you’ll have to keep stopping for me to take a leak every fifteen minutes if I drink any more of that stuff.”  
“Don’t pee yourself on my car seats; that’s all I ask, buddy!”  
Starsky sipped again.  
“You gonna tell me what’s on your mind; or do I drag you down to the station and point a bright light at ya?”  
“Look, I really don’t know. I was dreaming when you called about Sally and I don’t know but…don’t laugh Starsk…I don’t know if I was dreaming about a dark van or if I really saw one somewhere recently.”  
“Like up in the Simi Valley?”  
“You saw it too?”

***************************************************************

  
When Sally woke up she was scared because she wasn’t in her bedroom and her mommy didn’t come when she called. A nice lady came and sat beside her; but Sally didn’t know her and she remembered how her mommy and daddy and Dave all told her that she must never speak to people that she didn’t know. The nice lady sat by her bed. It wasn’t really Sally’s bed; she knew that but it was nice bed and she could hear birds outside.  
She wanted to do a wee; but mommy and daddy and Dave had told her not to speak to someone she didn’t know. She started to cry.  
“Sally, my name is Dawn and I’m your friend. Why are you crying Sally?”  
The nice lady knew her name and she said that she was Sally’s friend. Dave and mommy and daddy wouldn’t be cross if she spoke to Dawn, because Dawn said she was Sally’s friend.  
“I need to do a wee.”  
Dawn held out her hand. “Come on Sally; I’ll take you to the bathroom.” Dawn was nice; Sally held her hand and they went to find the bathroom. It was funny; Sally thought it was like the bathroom when Dave and Ken took the kids to the circus. The bathroom was in a tent; but it wasn’t like a bathroom at home. There was a hole and a wooden seat and it smelled bad. Sally weed and came out to find Dawn.  
Dawn asked “Would you like some breakfast, Sally?”  
Sally was hungry and so she said “Yes please” because mommy and daddy had always said that she must be polite. She could see the circus tent and she hoped that Dave was somewhere so he could take her home.  
“Is Dave here?” she asked Dawn.  
Dawn shook her head. “No Sally, Dave isn’t here; but there are lots of nice friends here and we are going to play a game. “  
Sally liked playing games. “After breakfast.”  
“Yes, “said Dawn, “after breakfast we’ll play a game.”  
Dawn took Sally to a big tent where lots of funny people were wearing their bathrobes and eating breakfast. They all had bathrobes like the people in the book that Dave read her when he came to see her. The people in the book were called Hobbits and they had robes with hoods.  
“Are you Hobbits?” Sally asked Dawn. Dawn didn’t know what to say. She was beginning to get pissed with having to look after this retarded kid. Simon told her off when she said Sally was retarded. “No, Dawn. She is exceptional.” All Dawn knew was that the kid had Down’s syndrome and a boy at school had a brother like that and he was in a home for retards. The kid kept asking stupid question and Dawn didn’t want to play nursemaid any more. She was trying hard not to get cross with Sally when Ron arrived at her side.  
“Simon has a dream for you. Go to him now Dawn. I will look after the child.”  
Stardust wasn’t too sure about leaving any kid with Ron – even a retard like Sally – but she knew that if Simon had a dream for her she must go to him. She glanced at Sally who was happily spooning cereals and went to find Simon.

He was in his tent. As usual it was dark and there was a stick of incense burning. The smell was really strong and Sally knew that there was something else burning in the room. Simon was sitting on the mattress; he held out the joint that he was smoking and called Dawn to his side.  
“Sit Dawn and share this with me.” Dawn could not resist his staring eyes. She came to his side and inhaled deeply from the joint. Her head grew lighter and Simon’s eyes seemed to glow more and more strongly as he spoke to her.  
“I have a dream for you Dawn. You must share my dream.” He passed her the joint and she took a long drag of the fragrant smoke and let it fill her lungs and open up her mind.  
“Are you with me in my dream Dawn?” Simon’s voice dominated her head. She was in Simon’s dream. Simon took her to the old zoo. The kid was already there. Simon did what he always did and Dawn took the kid away afterwards.  
Simon pulled Dawn to her feet and looked directly into her eyes.  
“Did you dream in my dream, Dawn?”  
“I dreamed in your dream Simon. I will answer when you call.”  
“Go now and help the other women prepare the child for me.”

Dawn went to find Sally. She was already with the other women. They were sitting in the long grass of the field and Stardust was teaching Sally how to make a daisy chain.  
Sally’s clumsy fingers could not handle the intricate movements of piercing the stalk of one flower and then threading another through it. She was getting frustrated and Stardust gently took the flowers from the child before she lost control. “It’s Ok Sally; everyone has trouble the first time. I’ll do it for you…see how pretty the daisy chain is?” She held up the daisy chain and made a circlet of it. She put the daisy crown on Sally’s head and called her ‘Princess’. Sally laughed. “Dave calls me Princess Sally. Dave is nice.”  
Stardust saw the opportunity to help the child calm down.  
“Tell me about Dave.”  
“Dave is nice. He used to go out with my teacher. She was called Terri; but she had to go away and she didn’t come back. We were all sad because we liked Terri. Dave was very sad. He went away, but he came back and now he comes and plays basketball with us again; and Ken comes too. And Dave and Ken took us to the circus…” She grinned at Stardust.   
Stardust took her by the hand. “If Dave calls you ‘Princess’ he knows that you really are a princess. Come on; now we have made your crown let’s go and find your princess dress.”  
Sally clapped her hands. “My princess crown. My princess dress. Princess Sally”  
Stardust led her down the hill. The others could hear the kid repeating “Princess crown. Princess dress.”  
Stardust and Sally got into the dark van and it drove them to the old zoo.

Stardust showed Sally her Princess dress. It was a long pink dress with flowers on it. They were real flowers and they had been stitched carefully into the skirt of the long dress.  
“Before you put on the dress you should have a bath Sally.”  
Sally liked baths. In her bathtub at home she had lots of toys to play with and mommy always gave her lots of bubbles. She followed Stardust babbling about toys and bubbles.   
Stardust helped Sally to undress and to climb into the big wooden bathtub. The water was warm; but there were no bubbles and no toys. Stardust used a washcloth and covered Sally with soap. The soap smelled nice but it wasn’t as nice as mommy’s bubbles. Stardust helped her out of the tub and wrapped her in a big towel.  
When Sally was dry she lifted up her arms and Stardust slipped the pretty dress over her head. Stardust put the daisy crown on Sally’s clean dry hair and they went hand in hand to the cave where Simon was waiting.

  
Stardust led the child over to Simon. She hated this; it seemed so unnecessary but Simon dreamed it so it had to be. Simon dreamed everything. This was just the first part of Simon’s biggest dream. “First the child; then the others.” That’s what he’d told them. The circus gave them good cover – just a few more freaks following the show – and the children in the other towns had all been easy to lead way from their homes. What Stardust didn’t like this time was that the child was handicapped – she followed so sweetly because she didn’t understand enough to be frightened. Stardust had seen the fear in the other kids’ eyes.  
She held Sally’s hand and led her to the mattress were Simon was sitting. He had the hood of his robe pulled over his head; but they could still see his eyes.  
“Bring her to me.”  
Stardust did as she was told.  
The others sat in a circle around the mattress; they had the hoods of their robes up. They were chanting: “Simon. Simon. Simon….”  
Stardust knew that she should obey; but something inside her told her that this time it was wrong.  
She gripped Sally’s hand and glanced at her. The child was grinning and she had picked up the chant. “Simon. Simon. Simon”   
Stardust stopped where she was still out of Simon’s hearing. “Listen to me Sally. When I say run, you run as fast as you can and I will follow you. We’re gonna play hide and seek and when we run away the others will try to find us.”  
Simon looked up. “What are you saying to the child, Stardust?”  
Stardust whispered to Sally “Don’t say anything.”  
“I asked her if she wants to go to the bathroom, Simon and she does.”  
Simon laughed. “That is of no importance now, Stardust.”  
Stardust started to lead Sally around the outside of the circle – just as Simon had told her to do. When they were near the exit she pushed Sally and said under her breath “run”  
She called out to the others “I guess she really does want to go to the bathroom” and ran after Sally.   
Sally was running. She liked playing hide and seek. When she played it with Dave and Ken they always found her and gave her candy. She hoped that these people would give her candy when they found her. She could hear Stardust catching up with her. Stardust was nice. She’d find a good hiding place for them.  
Stardust led Sally to a car. “In you get Sally; lie down in the back so no-one can see you.”  
Stardust slipped behind the wheel and released the parking brake; the car started to slowly roll down the slope that it was parked on. As the hooded figures started to come out of the cave, Stardust hit the ignition and the car moved forward. As she drove out of the gate of the old zoo she could see the van coming up behind her.  
She drove on towards the nearest busy street; up ahead she saw a motor cycle traffic cop and a set of lights that were turning red. She accelerated and prayed that nothing came the other way…and burned the lights.  
The traffic cop started out after her on his bike. She blew another light and pulled an illegal left turn. Sally was crying. “I want to be sick.”  
“Not now Sally. Be brave.”

*****************************************************************

The all-units call made Hutch sit up and take notice. “Listen Starsk.”   
“All units. Officer in pursuit of a green Pacer license 456 KLP driven by a woman. Unit is heading along Market going west.”

“This is Zebra three; we are responding.”

Starsky looked at him. “We are?”  
“Yea. Starsky, I don’t know why but I think it has something to do with Sally. Call it instinct or whatever you like.”  
“I’ll call it ‘whatever’, if you don’t mind. What is this; you’ve acquired clairvoyant powers or something?”  
“Just get over there. I remember a pretty girl; a hippy type, when we were at the circus…and she was parking a green Pacer.”

“Pacer’s about the kind of car you should drive – all John Denver and….” He didn’t finish because the Pacer shot across the junction in front of him; followed by the motorcycle cop. Starsky was about to give chase when he slowed.  
“Starsk!”  
Starsky was watching his side mirror and Hutch took the cue and turned his attention to the rearview. Coming around the corner was a dark van.  
“This could be interesting.” He mumbled as he hit the gas so hard that Hutch thought he was going to land up in the back seat. The Torino roared in pursuit of the Pacer; siren screaming. Starsky grabbed the mike and asked for a direct to the traffic cop.  
“This is Zebra Three. We think that this has something to do with a kidnapping and we want that driver. On the other hand we need you to watch the van that is about fifty yards behind us.”  
“Affirmative.” The motorcycle stopped and Starsky hurtled on after the Pacer.  
It wasn’t difficult to outrun the other car and Starsky fish-tailed in front of it leaving the driver just about enough time to stop without hitting the side of his precious car.  
Guns drawn the two cops stepped out of the car.  
The woman driving the Pacer was just as Hutch had described – a pretty hippy type.  
 _Just his type_

She stood with her hands above her head and she was crying. Starsky decided that Hutch could deal with her. He’d seen something else; someone moved in the back of the car.  
He eased his way along the side of the car and peered into the back. Sally was curled up on the floor and she was crying. He opened the passenger door and tilted the seat.  
“Come out come out wherever you are!”  
Sally sat up with a big grin on her face.  
“You found me. Stardust told me to hide but she didn’t tell me you were playing.” Sally reached out her arms to him and he helped her out of the car. Despite her weight he carried her to a bench on the sidewalk and sat her down.  
“Do you want to tell me what happened, Sally?”  
Sally clung to him. He hugged her close to his strong body and rocked her gently. He put his face close to hers and said “It’s ok Princess. I’ll take you home and you can tell me and your mommy all about it.”  
To his surprise Sally pulled back. “No! I don’t want to tell mommy! I want it to be our secret.” He hugged her again and kissed her forehead. “Sure thing, Princess. Our secret; but honey I might have to tell some of it to Hutch.” Sally was silent for a second. She looked up at him and smiled. “OK.”

Stardust was in tears. Hutch had already searched her and found two joints and he had put her into the back of the Torino. He looked over to where Starsky and Sally where sitting on the bench.  _Look how sweet he is with the kid._  
He watched Starsky speaking gently to Sally; and Hutch saw that the child seemed locked into those blue eyes. Not for the first time Hutch reflected on his partner’s ability to use his eyes to intimidate, to reassure and most often to seduce; he had know the guy for a long time and he still hadn’t worked out what it was about those eyes.

Stardust was sitting in the back of the Torino. She looked up at the rearview to see how she looked. The blond cop who’d busted her was kind of cute and she hoped she might make enough impression on him to get him to go easy on her. What she saw in the rearview made her blood run cold.  
The van was parked about a hundred yards back and she knew that Ron was watching her.

  
Starsky led Sally gently, letting her lean on him as they walked and he opened the driver’s side door. He was about to ease Sally into the backseat next to Stardust; but he changed his mind.  
“Hey Blintzie, you ride in back; Princess sits up front with me!”  
Stardust slid over as Hutch folded his tall body into the confines of the backseat of the Torino. As Starsky had more than once pointed out; it was not a car for going to drive-ins! He was cramped and uncomfortable – and Starsky hadn’t started the engine yet. Starsky strapped Sally in and turned the key. He glanced up into the mirror and caught his partner’s eye; there was a certain humoristic twinkle in the dark blue eyes as he said “it’s ok folks, I’ll be gentle!”  
  
He drew away from the curb and started off for Headquarters. As he drove away he caught the van in his side mirror and noted that the motor cycle was discreetly positioned ready to follow it. He also saw the frightened look in Stardust’s eyes.

Starsky drove in silence; he pulled into the station garage and skipped round to let Sally out of the car. He left Hutch to struggle out of the back of the car and escort Stardust up to an interview room.   
Hutch watched in amusement as his partner stopped at the candy machine and showed off his talents for ripping it off. He gave Sally the candy bar and put his arm around her shoulder to lead her into Dobey’s office.  
“He’s really nice to her; are they related?” Stardust’s question attracted his attention  
“No; her teacher was…oh it’s complicated…”  
“Tell me about it, please. I like the kid, and I couldn’t let them do that to her. You see I have a sister with Down’s so I know how it is.”  
Hutch stood to one side and ushered her into the interview room; they sat opposite one another and Stardust took a pouch of hand-rolled cigarettes out of her purse. She saw the look in the handsome cop’s eye. “It’s ok; pure Virginia, I promise.” Hutch sniffed one of them and took her matches to give her a light.  
“Please, tell me about your partner and Sally. Then I’ll tell you all you need to know.”  
“Starsky was dating her teacher, Terri. They were together a little more than a year; I’d never seen him so serious about someone and I think they would have got married. A man who held Starsky responsible for his son’s death…he shot her. She died and he was so unhappy I thought he might kill himself. But Terri had asked him to make sure that Sally went on making progress and he’s kept his word.”  
“That’s beautiful. I guess you’re not all fascist pigs.”  
She caught Hutch’s eye as she said it and they both grinned.  
 _If she wasn’t under arrest…_

“Now it’s your turn.” Hutch reached for a tape recorder and pushed the record button.  
“We live in Simon’s dream. He tells us what he has dreamed for us and it happens. We follow the circus because Simon says that no-one notices us. Simon like kids…he rapes them and then he dreams them dead.”  
Hutch touched her hand. “Are you telling me that you have been killing kids across the country?”  
“Simon dreams it and they die. He never kills them; he dreams that one of us will do it. For Sally…he dreamed that I would do take her to him and… but I couldn’t, I can’t do that to a kid like my little sister!”  
“And if Sally wasn’t exceptional? Would you have obeyed?”  
“I don’t know.” She was sobbing. “You don’t understand; Simon can look into your soul and when he tells you that he has dreamed for you...”  
She put her head down on the table and Hutch watched as she was wracked with sobs.

He switched off the tape machine – there would be nothing more to record for a while; he went to the ‘phone on the wall and asked for a stenographer to come and take the tape and write it up. He sat down and watched Stardust as she cried.

  
In Dobey’s office Sally was happily chattering to a female officer about the Princess dress and the Princess crown. Starsky was on the ‘phone telling Mrs. Lawson that Sally was safe and sound.  
“She’s fine. … No I don’t think they did anything to harm her. … I think you should maybe take her to your doctor though – just to be sure. … Yes. …. I’ll bring her home if you want. …she likes my car….In about a half hour.”  
He put the ‘phone down.  
“Hutch has the hippy girl upstairs and I guess he can tell you as much about this as I can. So I’m gonna take Sally home.”  
He went over to Sally and bowed low. “If Princess Sally is ready; her Tomato is waiting.” He held out his arm and escorted his Princess down to her carriage.  
Dobey smiled; Starsky had a way with kids and his Captain kind of hoped that it wouldn’t be too long before he had some of his own. Until then Dobey was happy to let Dave get all the practice he wanted playing with Rosie and Cal. He smiled at the female officer and asked her to go and find Hutch.

Starsky was watching Sally out of the corner of his eye all the way back to her house. She was suddenly very quiet and that bothered him more than the earlier babbling.  _If they harmed her…Hutch is going to have to hold me back_.  
He pulled onto the Lawson driveway and Sally’s mother came running across the lawn;  
“Oh Sally, my darling, you’re safe at home with mommy now.”  
Starsky followed them into the house and waited downstairs while Mrs. Lawson took Sally upstairs to where the family doctor was waiting. Starsky noted that despite the circumstances Mr. Lawson wasn’t there. He heard Sally cry a little and hoped that the examination wouldn’t have positive results. The doctor came down the stairs.  
“Did they…”  
“No. She’s fine; no traumatisms; I don’t think anyone hurt her – in fact it looks and sounds like everyone was gentle with her.”  
“Thank God for that.” He let the doctor out and waited for Mrs. Lawson.  
She came downstairs “She wants a story, Dave; one of your special ones.”  
He ran up the stairs and knocked on the bedroom door. It was all part of their game.  
Sally called “Come in.” He put his head around the door. All Sally could see was his curly head. He grinned and slowly bent his knees then straightened them to give the impression that his disembodied head was sliding along the edge of the door. Sally started to giggle.  
Starsky went and sat by her bed.  
He opened his eyes wide and mimed thinking very hard.  
“This is the story of a little girl and a dragon…”  
Ten minutes later Sally was asleep and Starsky tiptoed out of the room and back down to the living room.  
“You know where to call me Ma’am.”  
“David. I think you should call me Carol, don’t you?”  
“Sure Carol. Like I said you know where to call me – any time.”

  
The radio came to life and Starsky mechanically took the handset off its hook. “Patch through from Sergeant Hutchinson….Starsk?”  
”Yeah.”  
“Where are you?”  
“Just left Sally’s…I was going home but I guess you have other plans for me huh, Blondie?” He heard Hutch’s quick intake of breath; his partner hated it when Starsky teased like that in front of others – God know the rumors were bad enough sometimes and there were still plenty of other Pikes in the force. He’ll always be the kid from Duluth.  
“Come back to the station – I think you should hear what Stardust has to say.”  
Starsky sighed and took the next turning that would head him west and back to headquarters.  
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

He was driving along West Pico Boulevard when he glanced in the mirror and saw the van.  
 _What the hell?_  
Most people wouldn’t have taken any notice of a vehicle that stayed on the same route for a couple of blocks; always at the same distance behind. Starsky’s finely tuned instincts told him otherwise; he was being followed and not as discreetly as the driver of the van thought. He accelerated gently and kept an eye on the wing mirror. The van passed one car and kept its distance. He accelerated again; and once again the van overtook the car in front so as to keep the same distance from the Torino.  
Starsky smiled.  _Wants to play games, huh? Well let’s see what happens now_.  
He continued along West Pico and then hung a quick left into one of the streets that would eventually take him down to Venice Boulevard. Somewhere along here, he knew he’d get the chance to trap the van. Sure enough the van came into view. Starsky drove at a sedate pace; just like any other Joe on his way from A to B minding his own business and getting on with life.  
The trap was sprung. Just like a mouse that sniffed the cheese, the van driver closed in. Starsky watched the front of the van loom up and fill the rear view mirror; then he accelerated hard and the Torino’s custom engine did its stuff. He put a good fifty yards between him and the van and then slowed again.  
The game of cat and mouse continued for another couple of blocks until the van driver anticipated Starsky’s next speed up…and blew it.  
Starsky didn’t accelerate; he allowed the van to get close and then swerved to a halt. The van driver had the choice: slam into the back of the Torino; or carry on along the street. Starsky watched as the van drove past. It was a sinister looking thing; painted black with black tinted windows. Even the grill, the bumpers and the light surrounds were painted black. It was a dull black that looked like the owner had done it himself. Starsky could just imagine what Merle would have to say on the matter! There was a CB antenna and some kind of aerial that looked like maybe there was a TV set on board. There were no visible license plates on the rear. Starsky watched as the van continued towards Venice Boulevard.  
“This is Zebra Three. All units in the vicinity of Venice Boulevard and Fairfax; I need to know the itinerary of a black van (Starsky gave a brief description of the van) but please note I do not want the driver to think he is being followed.”  
Almost immediately a patrol car on Venice Boulevard checked in with Starsky.  
“I can see him. He’s heading towards the coast.”  
“Stick with him and pass the word to other units in the area. Just make sure I know where he went OK. No-one, I repeat, no-one get too close.”

*******************************************************

 

  
Hutch was waiting for him in Dobey’s office. Starsky stopped at the water cooler and took a drink. He sat on the corner of the desk.   
Hutch switched on the tape of his interview with Stardust.  
“…Simon dreams it and they die. He never kills them himself….”  
Starsky sat in silence while Stardust’s sad voice filled the room. As he listened his face was shadowed with anger. He started to pace up and down and stared at the tape recorder as if he could not believe what he was hearing.  
“And not one of the police departments in the other towns thought to check if there had been trouble anyplace else? I do not believe this!”  
Dobey grunted at him and motioned him to sit down. He plunked himself down angrily in a chair and stared at his boss.  
“We’ve been checking around. We have list of towns that the circus has been to in the past six months; and we have a list of dead kids.”  
Starsky and Hutch looked at one another.  
Starsky slammed the door as he left; Dobey looked across at Hutch, “make sure he’s ok.”

Hutch found Starsky in Dispatch. He was sitting on the edge of the desk and poring over the reports that had come in from the patrols about the black van. After leaving Venice Boulevard it had finally made its way back up through the canyons and the last car had lost it somewhere near the Simi Valley.

“Buy you a beer?” Hutch said as he read the pages over Starsky’s shoulder.  
His partner nodded.

  
They sat in a booth at Nellie’s place and drank in silence.  
“We have to find a way of infiltrating them; but how?” Hutch sounded almost defeated as he said it.  
“Well you and I can’t do it. Who do we know who would make a good freak?”  
They didn’t need to say any more; they finished their drinks and headed for the second round at The Pits.

  
“Why me?” Huggy looked pained.   
“Well for a start you dress the part.” Starsky grinned at him. Huggy was wearing a pair of the widest flares either cop had ever seen. The pants were topped with a tie-dyed loose tunic and although Huggy’s feet were hidden by his pants both cops knew that he was wearing thick platform soles. Huggy was taller than Hutch anyway; but today he seemed to tower above him; Starsky’s five foot eleven frame seemed dwarfed in comparison.  
Huggy looked at his reflection in the bar mirror and then at the two cops. “Of course you two are the last word in conventional elegance!”  
Starsky was wearing his “X-rated” jeans; a navy T-shirt and denim shirt and a black wind cheater. Hutch was dressed in a mismatch of gray slacks and an olive-drab T-shirt with a plaid lumberjack shirt.  
They looked one another up and down and turned to Huggy.  
“What’s wrong with the way we’re dressed?” they chorused.  
“Well if you don’t know, I ain’t gonna be the one to tell you.”  
Starsky pulled Huggy to a booth and Hutch followed with the glasses. They explained what they wanted their friend to do.

  
************************************************************

The circus was packing up. Higher up the hill a couple of tents and a trailer remained in place. One of the hippies had been down and asked the farmer if they could stay on his land a little longer and he had agreed.

Simon was holding court.  
“Soon my dream will come into being. Soon we will be in control.”  
The hooded figures in front of him started to chant: “Simon. Simon. Simon…”

The sound of a motorcycle roused Simon from his trance. He motioned to Ron to go and see who it was.  
Ron stepped out of the tent in time to see a black Harley making its way up the hillside. The rider was dressed in a crazy patchwork serape and his black hair had been teased into an huge ‘Afro’ .  
“Hey man; what’s happenin’?”  
Ron held out a hand. “Peace.”  
“Peace. I heard that you cats had a really cool thing going out here and man, am I sick of nine-to-five! I brought a little offering by way of an entry fee.”  
Huggy opened the saddle bag and produced a pouch of the finest marijuana he had been able to buy at such short notice. Ron sniffed it appreciatively and said “Follow me friend and come to meet our leader.”  
Huggy followed the black-robed Hippy into the tent.  
“Simon…Simon…Simon…”  
Ron motioned to him to stay where he was and went up to whisper something in Simon’s ear. Huggy saw a smile somewhere in the thick black beard that hid most of Simon’s face.  
“Come, stranger and I will dream you into our fold.”  
Huggy went forward and found himself held in Simon’s weird gaze. Someone started to lift the patchwork serape over his head and it was replaced with a black hooded robe.  
“Take you place amongst us. I re-name you Destiny.”

Simon stood before them.  
“Today we are together. Tomorrow I shall tell you my final dream.”

Huggy was stoned so far out of his head that he wasn’t sure he’d ever find his way back to it. He had not only smoked dope he’d eaten it in lasagna and in brownies and he had his doubts about the Kool Aid too.  
He tried his best, but he couldn’t hold on to reality any longer. It seemed to him that Simon was calling. He was floating toward the hooded figure. Simon threw back his hood and fixed Huggy in his gaze.  
“Destiny. You have come amongst us to help make the dream. You shall be the catalyst.”  
Huggy couldn’t break away from his gaze. Stoned as he was, he was still capable of knowing that Simon was trying to hypnotize him. If he concentrated his mind on something else – anything – he could stop it happening.  
Simon finished speaking and Huggy turned away.

  
The next morning the community was a bustle with preparations. The women were weaving flower garlands and the men were sharpening knives and axes. At mid day Simon gathered them together.  
“Now we shall prepare ourselves for the final Dream.”  
He took a tiny sickle-shaped knife from under his robes and raised it to his face. Slowly he traced an inverted cross on his forehead. The blood ran down his nose and he seemed to ignore it. The others stood around him.  
“Simon…Simon…Simon…”  
The sight of the blood and the knowledge that he would be expected to do the same brought Huggy back to the cold dawn of reality; he sneaked a look around him and saw his opportunity; he slipped out of the tent while the others were watching Ron and Dawn perform the same act of self-mutilation.  
Simon gestured to the others to form a line and one by one his followers submitted to the cross on their foreheads.  
From his hiding place Huggy heard the final instructions for the ‘Dream’. Simon and his followers would be waiting at the old Zoo. Ron and Dawn took the van and went to collect “the sacrifice”. Huggy was on his way to the Harley when he heard footsteps behind him. He was grabbed from behind and pushed and dragged to be thrown at Simon’s feet.  
“Destiny? Did you think that I would not miss you?”  
Simon smiled behind his beard.  
“You do not bear the mark of Simon.” Huggy saw the sickle blade come close to his face…  
“No. For you it is not necessary. Your destiny has changed. I dream your death.”  
Huggy was bound and gagged and taken to the car that Simon was already sitting in.  
They drove to the old zoo in silence.

*********************************************************

 

  
When they didn’t hear from Huggy at the appointed time the two cops weren’t too worried; when Huggy missed the second appointment they changed their minds.  
“Now what do we do?” Hutch asked.  
“I guess we’d better see if there’s any word on the streets.”

They spent most of the morning working alone, each one tracking down his snitches and creeps and they hit pay-dirt from a totally unexpected source.  
Starsky was in deep discussion with one of the hypes who would sell his soul for a fix. He was so strung out he could hardly speak and Starsky quietly slipped him a twenty.  
“Go get a little something to make you feel better; then come back and tell me what you know.”  
Starsky pointedly looked the other way while the hype did a quick deal in the back of the alley.  
Five minutes later; still shivering but looking a little more like a human being, the hype returned.  
“They guy I bought from. Follow him. He’s getting his stuff from a new lab and the people who run it are into something weird. He says the last time he went they had the plans of a house on the table and they put it away when he arrived - but he saw the address.  
“And did he manage to remember this address?” Starsky’s voice was just a little to calm for the hype’s comfort; and since he didn’t really want to kiss bricks right now he decided to tell the cop the rest.  
“Yea. It’s up in the swanky part of town….” He gave Starsky an address in Beverley Hills.

Back at the Torino Starsky patched through to Dobey with the address. Then he put out a call to Hutch and they met back at the station. They both arrived at the same time (for once!)  
They ran up to Dobey’s office.  
“The address you gave me is the home of ********.” Dobey mentioned the name of a B-list starlet who had made her name in schlock horror movies. She was known as ‘The Screaming Dream’ by the gossip columns because her main claim to fame came from screaming while being stripped by some monster.  
Starsky looked at Hutch “I’ve always wanted to see what she looks like with her clothes on.”  
Hutch shook his head and made a face. His partner’s taste in movies was hardly ‘art house’.  
They scurried off down the corridor and clattered down the stairs to the garage.  
Hutch’s “new” car was closest and although he still hadn’t worked out where Hutch got his supply of clunkers, for once Starsky didn’t demur.  
Off they went; the exhaust was hanging dangerously low and Starsky caught sight of sparks in the side mirror when he turned a corner.  
“Might you ever get this heap turned into a car?”  
“Not if it means having to drive something like yours!”  
“Woo! OK; I won’t buy you a gift token for Merle’s place for your next birthday.”  
Hutch was thinking about what Starsky had given him for his last birthday and he wasn’t sure that the idea of a gift token wouldn’t have been better. Where he was supposed to keep a four-foot wooden giraffe with flashing lights for eyes was still a mystery to him.

They turned off Rodeo and into the more expensive parts of town. The streets were wide and lined with tall palm trees. Houses hid behind tall walls and the gates had electric mechanisms to open them. They passed French style chateaux and Spanish style manor houses and a few colonial style mansions before coming to a halt about fifty yards from the entrance of the house they were looking for.  
The gates were just closing behind a black van.  
Starsky struggled with the door and prayed that when he opened it the horn wouldn’t start like on most of Hutch’s cars. He held his breath as he got out and closed the door carefully…silence!  
Hutch was already on the other side of the road and assessing the wall. He made a step with his hands and Starsky scrabbled up to peer over the top.  
“Let me down.” He whispered.  
“The van is in front of the house. Someone was ready to let them in. Hutch; the people in the van were wearing black robes like Sally saw, and they had big red crosses on the back. There was something wrong with them…I know, the crosses were the wrong way up – you know longer at the top…”  
“Like for a Black Mass or something?”  
“Well it ain’t what I wore for my Bar Mitzvah that’s for sure!”

Hutch made a step again and this time Starsky crouched at the top of the wall and reached down to grip his partner’s hand. Using Starsky’s muscle power to aid him, Hutch scrambled up the wall. He jumped down to the other side and Starsky closed his eyes and followed suit. Using garden vegetation for cover the two cops approached the house.  
The main door was open and a familiar voice was screaming inside the house. Starsky nodded to Hutch and they drew their guns; Starsky went in low and Hutch came in behind him. The screams were coming from an upstairs room. Keeping close to the walls they slipped up the stairs (the screaming suddenly stopped) and located the room that the screams had come from; Starsky gently pushed the door ajar and peered in. He pulled back fast and beckoned. Hutch joined him and in his turn looked into the room. Two hooded figures were standing over a naked woman tied by her wrists to the bed post. Her partner was suspended from the chandelier cable. His throat had been cut and judging from the pool of blood on the floor he was already dead.   
The two cops held a silent conference and Starsky pushed the door open. He stepped into the room and held his gun steady in front of him.  
“Police! Freeze!”  
Neither of the hooded figures took any notice of him. They continued their macabre work and Starsky watched helplessly as one of them sliced off her left breast. She didn’t make a sound and the cop was relieved to realize that she was dead.  
The two hooded figures turned and Starsky was horrified to see that one of them was woman. He aimed his gun at the man’s head and repeated his warning. The two of them walked straight past him. The man passed through the door; he fell forward and tumbled down the stairs. Hutch withdrew his foot and caught hold of the woman as she came towards him. Starsky lowered his gun and replaced it in his holster. He was speechless. Hutch pushed the woman over to his partner and went to check the body at the foot of the stairs. He felt for a carotid pulse and looked up at Starsky and shook his head.   
Starsky saw that his prisoner had no intention of resisting him – in fact she appeared to be in a trance. He sat her gently in an armchair by the window and turned to the bloody corpses. The sound of breaking glass made him turn…too late; the girl had jumped through the window.  
Starsky ran down to the garden and checked her for signs of life; she was still alive and she was saying something. He put his head close to her mouth.  
“Simon dreamed it…Simon…Simon…Simon…….” She fell back and he felt her pulse again. She was dead. Starsky was too stunned to react.  
He heard the van’s engine snarl into life and before he could take in what was happening it was gone and the gates were closing.  
Hutch was already using the ‘phone. He called the local precinct for reinforcements to guard the house – as soon as the press got hold of this one the place would be a mad-house. The he called the coroner’s department and the crime lab. When he had finished he sat down heavily in the nearest chair and ran his hand over his face. Starsky came quietly into the room and saw that his partner was close to a state of shock. He looked around the room and saw what he was looking for; he took two glasses and poured brandy into both of them. He walked over to Hutch and held out a glass.  
“Drink it; we both need it.” He sat down on the floor and they waited.   
As soon as the local police arrived the two of them ran to the Torino.  
Starsky hit the siren and Hutch put the Mars light on the roof and they were off whooping and wailing on their way. Hutch sent out an APB on the van but emphasized that any unit that spotted it must follow it and on no account try to stop it.  
Once again the van’s position was soon being relayed to the Torino by the units in place on its route.  
The black van drove through the open gates of the deserted zoo. It wound its way up past the empty cages and enclosures until it reached the old bear pit. The driver slipped into one of the caves.  
“They’re dead; Stardust and Moonbeam are dead too. I have the stuff though.”  
Simon smiled up at him. “It is how I dreamed it.” He stood up. “And now we will finish the dream.”  
He walked out into the sunshine and his followers started to circle around him.  
“Simon…Simon…Simon…”  
He raised his arms and Starsky’s voice rang out: ”that’s just perfect; Simon, keep your hands in the air and no-one gets hurt.”  
All hell broke loose. The hooded followers started to run every which way; some of them grabbed rocks and anything else they could use to do damage to another human body. Hutch readied himself for an uneven fight but that obviously wasn’t how it was going to be. They came at him one at a time and he soon saw that they were too stoned to be dangerous. They all just drifted off into the zoo.  
All except Ron; the driver of the van – he was wielding a very ugly knife.  
Hutch looked to see what Starsky was doing and then concentrated on staying alive. He lowered his gun from the ‘warning’ position and aimed it at Ron. Ron slashed at his wrist and the pain made him drop the gun. They started hand to hand combat.

Starsky was staring at Simon. Simon was staring at Starsky. The cop lowered his gun and released the trigger; he flared his fingers away from the barrel in a gesture to show that he wasn’t going to shoot. Simon continued to stare at Starsky. His black eyes seemed to burn from under his scarred brow. He stared Starsky straight in the eye. Starsky returned the compliment. Simon took a step towards him. Starsky did the same. Still fixing Starsky with his gaze, Simon stopped.  
“I did not dream of you.”  
“No; me you’ll only see in your worst nightmares!”  
“What I dream happens.”  
“Personally I never dream…well not unless I eat tostadas late at night.”  
Simon smiled.  
 _Got him. He lost control for a second there._

Hutch was finally getting the better of Ron and in a final effort he pushed the hooded man to the ground and pulled his arms behind him. He cuffed his prisoner and ran to see what was going on between Starsky and Simon.

Starsky was still staring straight into Simon’s eyes; and Simon was staring into his deep blue eyes. Hutch watched, unable to react.  
Simon stepped towards Starsky again; Starsky took a step forward. He knew that he had to take any opportunity to break Simon’s concentration. Simon smiled and touched the inverted cross in his forehead. “Doesn’t this scare you?”  
“Nah. Now if it was a Star of David…”  
That did it. Simon lost concentration as for a split second he thought that a Star of David cannot be inverted. Starsky sprang forward and drew his gun in one movement. He held the barrel an inch from Simon’s brow.  
“Did you dream the rest of your life in prison?”  
Simon stared at him.  
“You can’t kill Simon.”  
“I don’t want to. I want to see you locked away for the rest of your life.” He grabbed Simon by the arm and pushed him down from the rock that they were both standing on.  
“Hey Hutch; catch!” he pushed Simon roughly. Simon turned back to Starsky.  
“I will dream of you. I will dream your ending.”  
“Dream on!” Starsky smiled.  
Simon allowed himself to be led to the Torino and pushed into the back seat.   
Starsky called it in and requested the necessary back up to round up the hippies that were wandering in a stoned daze around the old zoo.

************************************************************

Starsky, Hutch and Huggy were round at the Lawson house.   
Huggy was doing his magic tricks; so far he had managed the trick with five rings and he’d even made a rabbit appear from his top hat. He asked for Hutch’s watch.  
Starsky nudged Sally and winked; “I hope he’s as good at it as the other magician.”  
But Huggy wasn’t going to perform any tricks that might harm the watch.   
“And now Huggerino the Magnificent will demonstrate the art of hypnotism.”  
He started to swing the watch in front of Starsky’s eyes. Hutch watched as Starsky followed the watch from left to right and right to left.  
“You are beginning to feel sleepy.”  
Hutch couldn’t see much difference; but Starsky’s right eyelid often seemed to droop.  
“You are drowsy and you will do as I tell you.”  
Huggy stopped swinging the watch and told Starsky to stand up.  
Starsky didn’t move.  
“Huggerino the Magnificent tells you to stand up.”  
This time Starsky rose slowly to his feet.  
“Huggerino the Magnificent tells you to sit down.”  
Starsky remained standing. A slow lop-sided smile spread across his face and he reached for the watch. “Here, Hutch; take it back before he does something dumb with it.”  
“Hey!” Huggy shouted, ‘you’re supposed to obey me.”  
Starsky stared hard at him. “Didn’t any one ever tell you Huggy; I ‘m one of those people that resist hypnosis!”

 _So that’s how he did it…Simon just couldn’t get to him._  At last Hutch understood what had gone down at the zoo. All the same he was glad to think that Simon would be spending the rest of his life behind bars.

 


End file.
